Category Archives: coronavirus

The CDC links in-person university operations with COVID spread

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

What does the coronavirus mean for colleges and universities? How did campuses handle this public safety emergency? I’ve been researching how the pandemic impacts higher education since COVID first appeared in Hubei province.  Part of my work reverses that equation, … Continue reading →

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2020 and me: personal reflections

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

Here’s a 2020 story: this Tuesday my wife became the first person in our house to get a COVID-19 vaccine. She received it so soon because of her new job as a contact tracer for the county east of ours. … Continue reading →

Posted in coronavirus, personal | 16 Comments

Queen sacrifice in Pennsylvania

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit higher education hard in many nations.  In the United States many colleges and universities suffer from virus-caused financial pressures, from decreased enrollment to reductions in state funding.  This has led to all kinds of cuts: … Continue reading →

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Good news for 2020: the COVID-19 vaccine triumph

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

We are living through a research triumph and might not be fully realizing it. Yesterday I started writing this optimistic post, but got caught up with more COVID-19 data, which led me to issue two grim Twitter threads (1,2). That … Continue reading →

Posted in coronavirus, futures | 2 Comments

Campuses and COVID: several updates

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

As I write this post the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rise in the United States and Europe.  At the same time colleges and universities are winding down 2020’s educational activities. I’d like to share several updates. First, on the pandemic: … Continue reading →

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The post-COVID summer of higher education

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

What happens to higher education if COVID-19 vaccines are widely taken by next summer? Way back in September I offered a scenario with a much darker vision, based on COVID continuing to gnaw on society for several more years.  Today … Continue reading →

Posted in coronavirus, scenarios | 3 Comments

American academia goes home for the holidays: will this contribute to the pandemic’s spread?

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

It’s late November and American higher education is winding up fall classes.  Traditionally this is when many residential students head home for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Now we’re also seeing a growing number of colleges and universities ending in-person classes earlier … Continue reading →

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Toggle terms rise as COVID-19 surges across the United States, suggesting a more online spring semester

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

I last posted about American campuses enacting toggle terms three days ago.  Since then the number of examples has ballooned. Let me offer two background notes.  First, I came up with the “toggle term” model waaaaaaay back in April.  It … Continue reading →

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Higher education grapples with COVID in early November 2020: pandemic, death, bad data, toggles, and a look to 2021

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

Greetings from November 2020. This isn’t a post about politics – it’s about higher ed and COVID – but given recent events, let’s do first things first: I hope to carve out time to say more about the election later. … Continue reading →

Posted in coronavirus | 6 Comments

Halloween 2020: America’s Great Fear

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Bryan Alexander

Greetings from the United States.  Happy Halloween to all. I was going to write about the holiday, recommending some stories, and reading one out loud.  I’m still planning on the latter, but it seems awkward if not outrageous to focus … Continue reading →

Posted in coronavirus, politics | 2 Comments